Stumbling Stones

(ongoing project)

A stolperstein (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtɔlpəʁˌʃtaɪn] from German, literally "stumbling stone", plural stolpersteine) is a cobblestone-size (10 by 10 centimetres (3.9 in × 3.9 in)) concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of individual victims of German Nazism. The stolperstein art project was initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, and is still ongoing. It aims at commemorating individual persons at exactly the last place of residency – or, sometimes, work – which was freely chosen by the person before he or she fell victim to Nazi terror, euthanasia, eugenics, was deported to a concentration or extermination camp, or escaped persecution by emigration or suicide. As of 11 January 2015, over 50,000 stolpersteine have been laid in 18 European countries, making the stolperstein project the world's largest decentralized memorial.

The majority of stolpersteine commemorate Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Others have been placed for Sinti and Romani people (then also called "gypsies"), homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, black people, members of the Christians opposition (both Protestants and Catholics), the Communist Party and the European anti-Nazi Resistance, military deserters, and the physically or mentally disabled.

At Terror's Border

The Makhtab Khalid checkpoint acts as a border between Kurdish controlled territory and Islamic State controlled territory in Iraq. These images were shot on assignment for The Wall Street Journal, near Kirkuk, Iraq.

A Peshmerga Soldier walks through the second security screening point of the Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint, observing people crossing the ad-hoc border between Kurdistan and the Islamic State. Kirkuk, Iraq.

Arab men and women exit busses which transfer them from the first to the second security screening points of the Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint. Kirkuk, Iraq.

Arab men and women exit busses which transfer them from the first to the second security screening points of the Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint. Kirkuk, Iraq.

Passengers load into a bus with goods and groceries purchased in Kurdish controlled Kirkuk, to return to their villages under control of the Islamic State. Shuttle busses run passengers between the first and second security screening points of Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint. The bus drivers make 5,000 Iraqi Dinar per passenger to shuttle people the 1 kilometer between the first and second security screening points. Kirkuk, Iraq.

Passengers load into a bus with goods and groceries purchased in Kurdish controlled Kirkuk, to return to their villages under control of the Islamic State. Shuttle busses run passengers between the first and second security screening points of Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint. The bus drivers make 5,000 Iraqi Dinar per passenger to shuttle people the 1 kilometer between the first and second security screening points. Kirkuk, Iraq.

Droves of people coming into the first security point of the Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint. The first checkpoint of the Islamic state is just 500 meters to the southwest, on Tikrit-Kirkuk road. Kirkuk, Iraq. (Photographers note: the IS checkpoint is directly under the highway overpass in the background)

Attalaf al Nour - a farmer and Sunni Arab who had brought his wife and five children to Kirkuk' s bazaar with him for a day of shopping. He lives in Salahaddin province. The family comes across the border to Kirkuk every 10 days or so for supplies that they can't buy anymore due to the IS control over the area. Baby formula and auto parts are some of the items in short supply. "The shops are emptying in Salahuddin. Storekeepers aren't restocking. Kirkuk now is the closest place where we can find choices," Mr. Nour said. In Kirkuk, Mr. Nour can also find a barber who will cut his hair and trim his beard -- businesses frowned upon since IS came to his area and demanded allegiance to the group's puritanical form of Islam. Kirkuk, Iraq.

Shuttle busses run passengers between the first and second security screening points of Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint. The bus drivers make 5,000 Iraqi Dinar per passenger to shuttle people the 1 kilometer between the first and second security screening points. Kirkuk, Iraq.

As seen from what is formerly an Islamic state guard tower, shuttle busses run passengers between the first and second security screening points of Makhtab Ahmed checkpoint. The bus drivers make 5,000 Iraqi Dinar per passenger to shuttle people the 1 kilometer between the first and second security screening points. Kirkuk, Iraq.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighting positions line the eastern bank of the Tigris River between Kirkuk and Tikrit. Kirkuk, Iraq.

My Friend The Medic

On the 23rd of August 2013, in Pul-E-Alam, Afghanistan, at an American outpost called Forward Operating Base Shank, my dear friend and Army flight medic, SGT Eric Williams was killed by a Taliban mortar round. At this time in the war in Afghanistan, soldiers being killed was not an uncommon occurrence. American media and media consumers had grown weary of the seemingly never-ending war in Afghanistan, and certainly of news that men and women were still dying there 12 years later. What's more tragic, is that Eric was at the end of a 12 month deployment, with many missions in harm's way, and recommendations for medals of valor for his many heroic feats. He was supposed to have been on an airplane a few hours before, flying to Kyrgyzstan, beginning his long voyage home. Instead, while walking back to a tent his unit was staying in from a cigarette break, he was struck from what I understand directly by a mortar round, or that it landed directly in front of him, somewhat shielding the two soldiers walking behind him from the blast.

Eric's death happened at a time when I was already working through a fairly disabling case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from my service in the Army as a medic, where Eric and I met. Eric was my subordinate on my final deployment to the Sadr CIty neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. Prior to the deployment, he and I bonded quite quickly. I was the senior line medic of A Company 1/6 Infantry, we had just returned from deployment less than a year before, it was clear that we were going again, that it would be bad again, that not all of us would come home again. As my military service was ending, Eric's was just beginning. I knew that I would have friends who would continue to deploy after I got out, but I never thought it would be someone I was so close to.

While perhaps misled and nationalistic, Eric's reception to his beautiful home of the Inland Empire, in sunny southern California was one that he would have perhaps been proud of.

"What a cruel thing is war; to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbours, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world! I pray that, on this day when only peace and good-will are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace. … My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men."--Robert E. Lee

Rob Hager holding the ashes of SGT Eric Williams.

SGT Eric Williams body arriving home in California, being greeted by his mother, his wife, and dozens of friends, family and supporters at Camp Pendleton.

A family from Eric's hometown of Murrietta, California welcome SGT Eric Williams home, holding an American Flag.

Firemen and EMT's from American Medical Response welcome SGT Eric Williams home. Fire, rescue, police, and nearly every local government asset from the areas surrounding Murrietta stood atop bridges along the highway to pay respects.

Police officers from the city of Murrietta backed by citizens of Murrietta render salutes as the funeral precession for SGT Eric Williams passes by.

Christie Hemm Klok, a lifelong friend of Eric's looks on in disbelief, while leaving Camp Pendleton.

Nathan D. Moldenhauer and Staff Sergeant William Breazeale hold flowers to be set to sea with the ashes of SGT Eric Williams.

An Honor Guard detail from the 82nd Airborne Division greet the arrival of SGT Eric Williams.

Hundreds of people in attendance at the service for SGT Eric Williams.

Dozens of friends and family of SGT Eric Williams share a meal, share stories, and remember the good times following the funeral service for Eric.

Notes on seashells, from SGT Eric Williams brothers in arms, to be cast to sea with Eric's ashes.

The ashes of SGT Eric Williams set out to sea on a bed of flowers.

Nowhere To Run

Arabs displaced from their homes in Northern Iraq, stuck on the border of Kurdistan, with nowhere else to go.

Myself and the writer that I had been covering this story with were both arrested on our first visit to these displaced persons by Kurdish Asayish (Secret Police) for several hours, and repeatedly told to delete the images and notes we had made. We returned several times afterwards under the cover of night, as any interaction with these persons during daytime would draw out undercover Asayish officers.

An Arab displaced man from Mosul holds a transparency from a CT scan of his daughter’s brain. The man declared, “My daughter needs medical attention, and we can not return to Mosul, as there are no doctors there to help her, and Daesh (the Islamic State) has occupied our city.”Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

An Arab displaced man (left) from Mosul holds prescriptions from a doctor for his daughter (right), that were made just before the city fell to the Islamic State in June of 2014. The man and his family had been stuck outside of the checkpoint, along with around 200 other displaced Arabs from Mosul and other Northern Iraqi cities which had fallen to Islamic State militants.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

An Arab woman displaced from Islamic State controlled Northern Iraq, holds her baby, which she proclaimed to have given birth to just 8 days prior, 6 of those days, spent stuck outside of the checkpoint, with no access to food, water, or proper shelter.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

An Arab baby lies in a barn, which is the only structure available as shelter for the families and children displaced from Northern Iraq to Kurdistan, covered in flies as he sleeps.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

An arab baby lies in a crate, being used as an ad-hoc manger. When I approached the child, I feared that it was dead, as it lay motionless in the manger, wrapped in cloth. I gently reached down to wake the child, and it responded to my touch. It was a very frightening moment.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

A young Arab boy lies on a mixture of blanket, cardboard, and dirt under a tree.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

An Arab woman, displaced from her home in Northern Iraq by Islamic State Militants holds her baby.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

An Arab baby being held by her father.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

A young Arab girl sits in a barn, which serves as the one structure where the Arab families displaced from Northern Iraq can use as a shelter.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

An Arab baby holds the hand of his brother while he sleeps on a blanket in the open air.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

Arab boys gather around a fire and make chai tea to help keep them warm, as the cold of night comes.Near the Kirkuk checkpoint between Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq

Operation Iraqi Afterparty

Following 1/6 Infantry's deployment to Sadr City, Iraq from early April 2008 to late June 2009, the unit, as well as its' soldiers went through changes. These images serve as documentation of how these soldiers adapted to the change, from being deployed to Iraq, to returning to Germany, to being able to have some sense of personal freedom, to training for war, and for some, being put out of the Army. 1/6 Infantry of the 1st Armored Division was changed to 2/18 Infantry, of the 170th Light Infantry Brigade, in July of 2009. Many of the commanders and leaders, who knew what the soldiers endured while deployed to Sadr City, had left and were replaced with new, inexperienced leadership , who didn't know, and didn't care about what the soldiers had done. A saying began looming over the Infantry Battalion, "It's not what you've done for the Army; it's what you've done for the Army lately."The 170th Infantry Brigade directed that many soldiers who had issues with reintegrating back into a garrison, non-combat environment, be discharged by any means necessary. Infractions from aggravated assault, to being drunk on duty which under the old command climate, may have resulted in a non-judicial punishment, now resulted in dishonorable, and other than honorable discharges. Soldiers who had gone on multiple deployments were being pushed out, regardless of their service record, valor, or witnesses of character.Witnessing and also living through this transition, I documented it, as I was a part of it. The name is an effort to address the name of the operation, which they had engaged in, and the lifestyle choices of the soldiers, following the deployment.

"Still, my vision was blurred - by wind and sand and distance, by false signals, poor communication, and bad coordinates, by stupidity and fear and ignorance, by valor and false pride.I remember most of the names and faces of my platoon mates. I remember the names and faces of some of their girlfriends and wives. I think I know who cheated and who stayed faithful. I remember who wrote letters and who drove their men mad with silence. I remember some of the lies and most of the questions. I remember the dreams and the naïve wishes, the pathetic pleas and the trouser - pissing horror.

I remember some of the sand, but there was so much of it, I should be forgiven.

I remember being told I must remember and then for many years forgetting.

We are afraid, but that doesn't mean we don't want to fight. It occurs to me that we will never be young again. “

—Anthony Swafford, Jarhead

Soldiers from 1/6 Infantry begin reintegration training, a two week course and series of checks that soldiers go through for two weeks, following a 15 month deployment to Sadr City, Iraq.

Specialist Michael Cussins smokes a cigarette while waiting for the work day to end.

Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany

Sergeant Aaron Yeh and Specialist Tyler Girardello, sit in the barracks and smoke cigarettes on a day off.

Baumholder, Germany

Soldiers conducting field training between deployments, as seen through a HMMWV (Humvee) window.

Baumholder, Germany

Specialist Samuel Whitman, rides BMX as a pass-time. Being stationed in Europe offered a wide variety of things that soldiers could do on a weekend, or during time off. Most stayed around the base and drank.

Sankt Wendel, Germany

Private AJ Morrisey crawls under barbed wire, during a field training exercise.

Baumholder, Germany

A display in the Ramstein Post Exchange, shows a wide variety of cookware as a promotion for a visit by the chef, Emeril Lagasse.

Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany

A Soldier evaluates a simulated casualty, during a field training exercise.

Baumholder, Germany

Staff Sergeant Holbert Watts hugs his spouse, after being presented with a sign that he personally took to combat three times, after being presented by the members of the 2/18 Infantry, formerly 1/6 Infantry Medical Platoon, and the incoming platoon sergeant, Staff Sergeant Chris Bickford.

Baumholder, Germany

Specialist Eric Williams sorts through paperwork from the days patient load at the 2/18 Infantry, Battalion Aid Station.

Baumholder, Germany

The beginning of the end of my military career.

Baumholder, Germany

A self portrait, following a night of drinking, and engaging in a fist fight.

Baumholder, Germany

A sergeant and a soldier conduct field training on how to use a Syncronized, Ground-Air Radio System (SINCGARS).

Baumholder, Germany

Soldiers from the 170th Light Infantry brigade enjoy a concert from a band as part of a USO tour.

Baumholder, Germany

A soldier tries to give his girlfriend water, during a long night of drinking.

Baumholder, Germany

Specialist Daniel Hausamann tries his hand at German playground equipment, on the day that he was discharged from the U.S. Army